Return to Rougeport
by a-rod48
Summary: A continuation of "Standing Still". Princess Peach has been melted down and turned into coins after an accident with a modified metal cap. Mario must collect the seven Crystal Stars again to save her, but he isn't the only one hunting down the Crystal Stars, and bringing back Peach may have dire consequences..
1. Prologue-1: Coins

**Hello! Welcome to Return to Rougeport, a continuation on 'Standing Still' If you haven't read it, this will probably confuse the heck out of you. I recommend reading it first then coming back here. **

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><p>Peach's heart started to fill with dread as she was placed in a small gondola leading into a furnace. <em>I have to get out of here! <em>She tried with all of her might to move but still found herself motionless. As the furnace drew closer she began to lose hope. _This is it, isn't it? _She thought. All at once fear overcame her, fear of a fate worse than death.

_Being a statue was bad enough, but at least I am still me. After this I'll be nothing more than loose change. Just coins to be put in blocks, left in parking lots, or lost between couch cushions. Pieces of me will be spread across the Kingdom! People will wonder what happened to their poor princess while the use me to by a soda at the gas station!_

As the gondola pulled into the furnace, she started to cry. The heat started to get to her. It started with her feet, slowly they began to lose their shape, until eventually there was a puddle. Drops of her hair fell around her. As she sank to her waist, she lost her sight. She could feel every part of her lose cohesion and spread out. She fell backwards and sank into the pool, where the rest of her quickly melted. The gondola made its way out of the furnace, it went in with a princess, and came out with molten gold.

The gondola then turned and poured her into coin molds. She felt each coin like it was part of her, her fingertip, her nose, her hair. The coin blanks were cooled and then taken to a press, where the image of the princess was ironically stamped into each. Each of Peach's coins were then rolled up, put in boxes and placed onto a pallet._ That's it. I'm gone .I'm no longer the Princess. I'm not a person, someone's friend, even a statue. I'm 90,000 pink coins, worth fifty coins each._

Wario came down to the reclamation area and noticed the pallet of coins. "Darn, I got here too late. We had a buyer for that. Ah well." He reached into the box, broke open a roll and grabbed a coin. "I have to keep myself a little trophy, pink gold is hard to come by!"

He walked into the lobby and flagged down his new secretary.

"What can I do for you sir?" Barry said.

"I had received a call from Princess Daisy the other day, she was wanting to buy a pink gold Peach statue I had acquired earlier."

_Daisy is going behind our backs, how clever.._ "Would you like me to inform shipping sir?"

"No, I need you to call her back and tell her it's not for sale."

"Why is that?"

"I already had it melted down into coins" Wario said, pulling his 'trophy' out of his pocket. "Was able to make 90,000 coins from that baby."

_WHAT! She's gone?! _"Oh, o- okay sir. I'll get right... on it." Barry was having a hard time fighting back his emotions. The man standing in front of him had just inadvertently killed the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. As Wario walked away Barry ran back to his computer.

Blue: Get down to Warioware NOW!

Red: What's the matter.

Blue: Pink is dead.

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><p><strong>I think I may have done George R.R. Martin proud with this one.<strong>


	2. Prologue-2: Hope

**Sorry it took so long. Stuff has been getting in the way (Including an unresponsive "Submit Document" button.) You wouldn't believe how much my college classes have been helping with my writing. I do my best writing during math class!**

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><p>Bowser's calendar was blank, no invasions, no kidnappings. He had a whole week ahead just for him. Packing his golf clubs in the Clown Car, he prepared for a well deserved vacation.<p>

This is where Ludwig had a decision to make. Lord Bowser doesn't like wrecked plans, but what he held was definitely worth the attention of the King.

"Lord Bowser, may I have a moment of your time?"

"No Ludwig, I don't want to hear your latest symphony. Unless you finally decided to add an electric guitar."

"I would never touch those wretched things! Anyway, that's not what I am here to talk about."

"Well, GET ON WITH IT! I have a 2:30 tee time I don't intend to miss."

"Earlier this week you sent me and the 64th division to Fahr Outpost to capture the cannon there."

"I did? OH I did! What's the status of the cannon?"

"Well to be blunt, we got our shells kicked. Blizzard-like conditions severely hampered our efforts. Only myself and a small group were able to break through. Even then we were quickly driven away."

"So you stopped me to say that you COULDN'T TAKE OVER A SMALL VILLAGE!"

"No sir, I stopped you to tell you that on our way out we snagged this..." He reached into his shell and pulled out a clear star-shaped stone, shimmering brightly. If Ludwig didn't know any better he would say Lord Bowser's jaw hit the floor.

Bowser reached into the Clown Car and pulled out his cell phone. "My name is Bowser Koopa, K-O-O-P-A. Cancel my course time, something has come up."

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><p>"WHERE IS HE!" Mario screamed at Barry as he wheeled himself into WarioWare's front lobby.<p>

"In his office, Mario." Barry pressed the button on his desk and the doors to the private elevator opened up. Luigi ran behind the man in the wheelchair, straining to keep up.

The elevator ride was one of the longest in his life. The ride to confront the man who killed his Peach. Accident or not Mario was determined to make Wario pay. The doors finally opened into Wario's office, where a meeting between Wario and a Ratooey businessman was taking place.

"Mario what are you-"

"SHUT UP! YOU DID THIS!"

"Wha-" Wario was stumped, sure his dirty trick at the track was what caused Mario's broken leg, but this wasn't Mario he was looking at. This scared him.

Suddenly, Mario pulled a Fire Flower from his overalls. As his clothing changed color he leapt out of the wheelchair with his good leg and tackled Wario to the ground and even surprising Luigi, who thought they were just there to talk. Ignoring the intense pain from his broken leg he pinned Wario down, one hand on his throat, the other charging a fireball to slam into his face.

Then he stopped. A small voice was the only thing holding him back. _Mario... _He heard the familiar voice ring through his head. In that instant his unbridled rage turned to sadness as he sat down on the floor next to Wario. His fire power went away as his eyes started to burst into rivers.

"Would anyone mind telling me what the hell is going on?" Wario yelled. First he was discussing Nitro Honey Syrup with his business partner, the next he was on the ground, and the next his assailant started bawling.

"You- you killed her. You killed Peach." Mario barely managed to squeak out.

"What! I did not. I haven't even seen the Princess in weeks!"

"The Princess was wearing a special metal cap that turned her into gold, but it immobilized her in the process." Luigi explained. He was doing his best to hide his own anger, at the moment he wanted to at least punch out Wario.

"A metal cap? That would.." It took a moment for him to fully put the picture together. "Oh... Oh God." Was all he managed to say. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the 50 coin piece. The 'trophy' he kept from melting down the statue. From the Princess. All he could do was stare at it. "I'm sorry." he whispered.

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><p>The drive home was quiet. Not a single word was spoken. Mario sat in the passenger seat, staring at the pink coin in his hand. Luigi knew better than to say anything<p>

Stepping out of the car, Luigi grabbed Mario's wheelchair from the back and helped him into it.

"Luigi?" Mario finally spoke up.

"Yeah bro?"

"What do we tell Toadsworth? Tell the kingdom?"

"The truth. That's all we can do." Luigi said, wheeling Mario to the table. "I'm going to make some spaghetti. Do you want any?"

"Sure." Mario replied. Everyone has things they do when they are sad. Luigi's is cooking, Mario's happens to be eating. It works out that way.

Looking around the room, Mario searched for a spot for the coin. He settled on the map on the wall. The one Peach had sent him long ago. He remembered that adventure well. The journey, the friends he made, the evil that almost took Peach from him.

He stood himself on his good leg and placed the coin in the corner of the frame. "I miss you Peach" he whispered.

In a bright flash, the coin levitated in front of the map, causing a startled Mario to fall, further aggravating his leg.

"YAAAAAAAGH!" Mario screamed in pain.

"MARIO!" Luigi yelled, running back into the room. "What the-" Luigi stopped at the doorway, seven colorful stars floated above the fallen plumber, sparkling as they flew. Hearts and flowers fell from them like rain, disappearing with a flash upon Mario.

Mario slowly regained his senses and stood up as the stars above dissapeared. "Wha- My leg, It's- it's not broken!"

"Holy spaghetti Mario, what was that?" Luigi said, still trying to figure out what was happening.

"Sweet treat, I think. It's a special move the map gave me on my adventure in Rougeport. But why-" Mario was once again cut off by a bright flash. The coin started spinning, faster and faster, until a ghostly image appeared.

For the past 12 hours, Peach felt nothing, heard nothing, saw nothing. She was alone to her thoughts. It felt like months had past. She was just as surprised as the Bros. were to find herself in their living room. "Mario! Luigi!"

"Princess!" The duo said simultaneously.

The trio's joy was short lived, the map flashed once more and pulled the Princess in.

"MARRRRIOOOO!" Peach cried as she disappeared into the map.

The room fell silent, the only sound was that of a coin hitting the floorboards, now missing its pink hue. No one was sure what to do for a minute. Finally Mario pulled the frame off the wall and took out the map, putting it in his pocket

"Grab your hammer, Luigi. We can still save her." Mario said with renewed confidence.

"Where to bro?"

"The harbor, we need to catch the next boat to Rougeport."

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><p><strong>So our next story begins. This was actually going to be two pages, but after the *ahem* <em>Altercation <em>between Mario and Wario, I didn't want to end on such a sour note. Stay tuned folks!**


	3. Prologue-3: The Message

**Sorry it took so long, wasn't q****uite sure how to proceed.**

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><p>"Is this really it?" Bowser entered the lab with his usual demanding presence, the one koopa doing the research casually continued his work while the other five researchers hastily minimized their web browsers and tried to keep up a façade of actual progress.<p>

"Yes my Lord. This is one of the seven Crystal Stars." The koopa replied with confidence.

"Alright! Ludwig deserves a little vacation time for this. So, what have you been able to figure out so far?"

"It's a magical power source forged of crystal. It is attuned to the wishes of its wielder, so unlike a lot of magic it has not sense of morality to it. I.E. It will help anyone who uses it, good or bad. Also, according to legend, each star is said to impart special abilities its holder. From what-ahem- I MYSELF AND NO ONE ELSE… have gathered" he shot a look of contempt at his lazy coworkers before continuing. "This specific star allows the holder to use the special move, Supernova, which warps space around the target for immense damage."

"I know that part, Mario used that one against me at the Palace of Shadow. Fantastic work ummm" he paused to look at the scientist's name badge "…Kerry! I think you earned yourself a promotion, now you get to boss around these losers." Bowser let out a chuckle as he turned to leave the lab, only to be stopped by something else entirely.

A bright light bathed the entire lab, then faded to complete darkness. Small sounds could be heard, almost like speaking. As the darkness left Bowser and the researchers found themselves in a house, Mario and Luigi's house. The bros. stared dumfounded. Not at Bowser, but at a small coin in the center of the room, spinning in the air. It let out a bright flash, as it faded a ghostly figure appeared.

"Princess Peach?" Bowser whispered under his breath.

_"Mario! Luigi!"_ the princess said in a state of shock, confusion, and joy.

_"Princess!"_ Mario and Luigi both shouted with joy.

Just as quickly as she had appeared however, she disappeared. Sucked into the map on the wall.

Silence filled the air as everyone just stared at the map on the wall. Everything else around them faded to black. The silence was broken as the voice of Mario echoed through the void.

_"We can still save her… we need to catch the next boat to **Rougeport**."_ That last word hung in the air for a bit. As it did, a small circle flashed on the map, highlighting the port town. It was quickly joined by two ominous words. **STOP THEM.**

As the room went back to normal everyone just seemed to stand there for a minute, unsure of what to do.

"Kenny, do you have any explanation as to what we just saw?"

"Perhaps, my lord, the Crystal Star does not want Mario to save her. I know she means something to you as well sir, but if you want my advice, the star probably knows something we don't"

Bowser stood silent, contemplating his options, on one hand something had clearly happened to the princess. On the other, something of great power was warning them of something, something bad, likely. "Tell maintenance to get the Clown Car ready, either way we can't let that plumber get his marinara soaked hands on the rest of them."


End file.
